FPF422

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the Environmental Protection Agency has begun using a new method to estimate fuel economy for 2008 model year vehicles and beyond. The new method is more accurate than the old one because it finally takes into account some real world factors like driving with the A/C on, higher highway speeds and accelerating harder. Accuracy is achieved, however, at the cost of high MPG ratings for pretty much every vehicle across the board. So your 2008 Dodge Charger will be estimated at a few miles per gallon less in the city and on the highway than a 2007 model. Nothing has physically changed about the car, just the EPA's method for estimating the fuel economy numbers.

Well, what about all of us dolts who bought vehicles before 2008? What's our true MPG? Only good record keeping at fuel stops and a calculator can answer that, but the EPA has set up a MPG comparison tool at its website so that pre-2008 owners can at least get an estimate of how their vehicle would've handled the new method of testing.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectYear.jsp

etyu

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Thanks Pierre-Andre. Looks like I drive on HWY as my mpg is about 23.8 mpg combined on the SLK 280.

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Eddy

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Pewter/Beige, PIII package, Airscarf, Hands-Free Communication System, Lighting package
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Bill T), SmartTop v1.0, Kleyman 3BFM (NoRegret Custom), Green Air Filters, Mod. R170 ant., EuroClear sidemarkers w/PIAA PlasmaIon lamps, chromed front & rear turn indicator lamps, PIAA SuperPlasmaGTX front parking lamps, bilateral rear fog lamps enabled.

steve-p

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I'm really curious about just how realistic their testing methods are. Converting my own actual real world recorded figures to take into account US gallons, I get 17.5 city and 24 highway which is way different to their 14 and 20 (or even the previous 16 and 22, but at least that was closer). What's the point of an apparently unrepresentative test? Do they do it on low octane fuel or something?